With rdio shutting down, I'm weighing the pros and cons of the various competitors.

Obviously, Google Play All Access is available, and none of the others have official apps, but I was able to sideload rdio and it worked fine with a keyboard/mouse.

I'm wondering if anyone had any experience with Spotify, Tidal, Deezer or Apple Music, or if you have suggestions for alternatives that I may not have considered.

its good? any tip?

Anybody else receive this? It's kind of annoying because I already purchased a season pass for the Talos Principle.

Started off with a Nexus Player and once SlingTV was available it became the primary platform for OTT, however growing pains quickly emerged...While I remain supportive of what Google was trying to accomplish with the NexusP it was clear the endless not-quite-fully-baked quirks like choosing between cumbersome HDMI-CEC integration and an remote that lacks volume, not to mention a remote would that simply unpair for no discernible reason, made it a less than ideal solution for a living room shared with a wife who expects things "to just work."

To alleviate that and with no alternative from Google/Asus on the horizon - and obviously get a working version of Amazon Instant Video & HBO Now ASAP - I took the plunge and went out and bought a Sony 4k 2015 TV, the XBR55X850C.

OS: The Sony TV runs 5.1.1 at the moment and while Sony includes a few more bells & whistles than a Nexus Player it's the same idea.

Apps: I knew I'd be getting Amazon Instant, HBO Now but I was a bit shocked to find Vudu was lurking in there with a functional AndriodTV App as well. For the moment these apps remain the "killer feature" of the Sony platform until more UHD content appears.

Bloatware/Crapware: The Sony TV is absolutely loaded with spam for unwanted bloatware apps some of which seem to be installed by the img itself (Crackle) however the bulk of my ire is unnecessary row of spam called "Featured Apps;" it gets far more annoying as time goes on as to reach your real apps you need to scroll through it each and every time. To Sony's credit however they resisted the temptation to further skin the UI, if your familar with Nexus Player you'll be at home here.

OTA Integration: This was also unexpected, I have an HD Home Run and Sony had it's own way of implementing these channels via "Streaming Channels" -- which seemingly negates the need for Google's Live Channels -- In practice it worked better than I expected and it was possible to scroll through the channels with a channels button (woohoo!) however I couldn't find a programming guide (boohoo).

Feature & System tools: This is the biggest upside, as the full featured remote control & ability to control all facets of the viewing experience with said remote was wonderful improvement over using a Nexus w/TV. However, since some settings are controlled via Andriod OS settings applet and others via Sony's own OSD tools it can be a pain to hunt for a specific setting as you need to use two radically different interfaces to find each and further compouding the problem was that some settings can be controlled via both mechanisms. That said, the only feature I found really missing on the Nexus Player (w/Marshmellow) was the ability to stream the audio feed to a Bluetooth-based headset.

Casting: Worked the same as the Nexus Player, with the same bizarre inability to control the volume from a phone (why a Chromecast can do this and Google Cast circa Nov 2015 is utterly beyond me).

Performance: Not being a TV gamer, I didn't really notice much of a change in horsepower with the OTT apps (SlingTV, HBO, Amazon etc). While the Nexus Player would likely win a head-to-head benchmark test, simply eliminating the HDMI-CEC quirks the overall "feel" is much improved in terms of real-world boot-up.

Conclusion: Overall, it is a radical improvement over the Nexus Player, however that's as much of a statement about my frustration with the Nexus as it is with the Sony. Apple would never have a media-center STB without premier apps like Amazon, HBO & Vudu and while I don't think Google's ideal is the current approach, the reality is that TV manufs and app makers are locking-down APKs creating the kind of walled gardens that benefit no one. Deep-down, I'd rather invest in an AndriodTV STB and buy the best (dumb) viewing panel & audio experience possible but for the moment Sony has a path of lease resistance to get to where I need my home media-center to be circa Dec 2015...

I just got a mxIII-g 2/8 gig about a week ago and wondering if the shield TV would be worth getting on Cyber Monday? Would it be a worthwhile upgrade for games and emulators?

Just recently upgraded to androidtv and cant get my vlc player to find file on my hdd thats connected directly to the tv via usb, kodi found all the files but i dont like it and prefer vlc. any suggestions on how to make vlc find my media? Or what a custom directory would look like for a hdd connected via usb, any help would be greatly appreciated Also general thoughts on VLC for androidTV so far

I'm getting a brand new tv this week. I want Android TV. I'd there any advantage for getting a TV with it already built in it getting a tv without it and then getting a nexus player or something. And will there be any sales on a built in TV this Friday or Monday?

Hello all,

As it has been announced, I know that the shield tv is going to be $150 plus a free remote on Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. My question is come Thanksgiving, will I be able to order it online or is this stores only? I am working thanksgiving and black friday. I will not be able to get to the store in time. Any idea?

EDIT: Ordered it just now at Gamestop, Best Buy has it too!

Anyone has had this issue on netflix app where it loads up to 99% and audio starts but no video at all? Screen only shows the 99% load indicator. It was working fine 2 days ago during the day and at night this issue started happening. the app has not been updated.

Does anyone know if you can get rid of the "geforce" row that only lists GEFORCE NOW and NETFLIX? My games and apps are bellow. Also, how can I hide apps from the home screen. For example, the receiver app I'm using for AirPlay and casting doesn't need to be shown. Thanks!

Tried today the androidtv version of twitch, and i have to say the quality of the image is very bad. Even when i select source quality the image remains SD and very blocky, especially on very fast scenes. So i re-sideloaded the normal version of twitch and everything is good, hd and buttery smooth. Why, why nobody is capable of making a good android tv app in comparison to the usual one? Do the developers really need also to dumb everything down only because it is TV? Why the nba app doesn't still have game stats and i need to sideload the espn app for stat checking? This is stupid /rant

Back in May there was a press release that promised many apps were coming, one of which was Vudu. I wish they would hurry up with it. It's the only app I'm missing.

[deleted]

Hey guys, I think it would be amazing to have it so all my phone notifications show up on my TV. If not, would anyone be interested in such an app if I were to make it?

Hello all, just purchased a shield a week ago, and am enjoying it so far. I have had a few issues that I would want to share and see if the group has had any of the same:

1. I cannot perform a voice search from the controller, I contacted nvidia and they have told me that this is an issue that is going to be corrected. Is anyone else having this problem?

2. When running the HBO GO chromecast app on my phone to the shield, I encountered a big red X and just sound only. A reboot fixed the problem... I was under the impression that the Shield had chromecast 'built-in', will this be a problem in the future?

3. Does anyone thing marshmallow will improve or hinder the shield as it stands?

Thanks all!

Anyone know what this means? I'm logged into my google account (logged out too just to make sure) and it shows me this on the account page. Youtube app also tells me I can't sign in. Was working fine last night.

Box is an nvidia shield tv. Internet connection is fine, can stream netflix without a problem.

Hey guys! Just got my nvidia shield (upgraded from nexus player) and I wanted to try to stream some games like I saw advertised as a headline feature. To my dismay I only see Geoforce now and Shield Games. Anyone have a similar experience or know what is going on?Thanks in advance!